The present conflict in the Red Sea has, for the first time, brought the world’s attention to the potential of low-cost drones in naval warfare. Many commentators have expressed surprise that the Houthis, by employing a new generation of cost-efficient weapons, have been able to exert sea denial and drain the coffers of the mighty U.S. Navy. This is true, but it is also beside the point; American resources are so much greater than the resources of Yemen that the United States can prevail regardless of inefficiency. The question we ought to be asking is not “what can Yemen achieve with these new weapons,” but “what can China do with equivalent or better weapons?”
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